A periodic physical examination has tremendous benefits; it allows physicians to check on their healthy patients while they remain healthy. However, the benefits of this check-up being done on an annual basis are questionable since many chronic illnesses that benefit from early detection take longer than a year to develop. Preventive health checks should instead be done at time intervals recommended by guidelines, such as those noted by the Canadian Task Force on the Periodic Health Examination.

Conditions: Asymptomatic Healthy Patients

Diagnostic Tests: Periodic Physical Examination, Periodic Health Examination

Sources

• The periodic health examination. Canadian Task Force on the Periodic Health Examination. Can. Med. Assoc. J. Nov 3 1979;121(9):1193-1254. (PubMed)
• US Preventive Services Task Force Guides to Clinical Preventive Services. The Guide to Clinical Preventive Services 2012: Recommendations of the U.S. Preventive Services Task Force. Rockville (MD): Agency for Healthcare Research and Quality (US); 2012. (PubMed)
• Boulware LE, Marinopoulos S, Phillips KA, et al. Systematic review: the value of the periodic health evaluation. Ann. Intern. Med. Feb 20 2007;146(4):289-300. (PubMed)
• Krogsboll LT, Jorgensen KJ, Gronhoj Larsen C, Gotzsche PC. General health checks in adults for reducing morbidity and mortality from disease: Cochrane systematic review and meta-analysis. BMJ. 2012;345:e7191. (PubMed)
• Si S, Moss JR, Sullivan TR, Newton SS, Stocks NP. Effectiveness of general practice-based health checks: a systematic review and meta-analysis. Br. J. Gen. Pract. Jan 2014;64(618):e47-53. (PubMed)
• Blais J, Fournier C, Goulet F, Hanna D, Kossowski A, Laberge C, et al. L'évaluation médicale périodique 2014. Agence de la santé et des services sociaux de Montréal et Collège des médecins du Québec. 2014 [cited 2014 Aug 25]. (PDF)